Planning a research project

In Hainich National Park, a large number of scientific projects have been and are being realised. But a great number of things have not yet been explored! The national park authority therefore promotes and supports the realisation of suitable research projects by third parties.

When planning new research projects, it should be remembered that nature has priority in the national park! This means that all research activities need to be conducted in way that is respectful to nature and the environment; in general, observational (non-invasive) methods are required to be used. Further information on this can be found in the research concept (in German).

In order to guarantee this requirement, all research projects in the protected area require the approval of the national park authority (compliant with § 6 para. 2 of the Thuringian Law on Hainich National Park). A description of the planned research project is required in order to process applications. For this purpose, the national park authority has drawn up a leaflet in which the structure and the minimum content for a project description are defined. The fact sheet (in German) is availabe for download.

Research approval is usually granted by concluding a research agreement. This agreement also regulates, among other things, the documentation of the collected data.